BLACKOUT 2003: RENEWABLE SUCCESSES-RENEWABLE FAILURES

摘要

The rapidity of the August 14th cascading blackout once again pointed to the need for a more resilient electric infrastructure. This resiliency must be in terms of both the ability of the grid to isolate portions of itself from electrical faults and use "distributed resources" within a "decentralized" system. But what is actually meant by the terms "distributed resources" and "decentralization" and how may they add to resiliency? This paper will provide some common basis for discussion by defining these terms since they have been defined in many ways to meet the needs of disparate stakeholders. Only by providing detailed elements of what is included in a "decentralized" system can we begin to rebuild the grid in a manner that makes it responsive to the needs of a digital society that has become more vulnerable to a variety of threats. Finally, it will recount some of the bright spots in this dark episode wherein renewable energy and distributed resources were successful in continuing operation for both critical and non-critical loads. This will include important lessons from previous key disasters including the original use of photovoltaics (PV) on gas stations as a result of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 when loss of power prevented the refueling of emergency vehicles and back-up generators.